HISTORIC DIGS
BUZZ
Things We Like ….
LANCE GERBER / COURTESY THE ARTIST AND DESERT X
HISTORIC DIGS
If you ’ re looking for a place to stay during events taking place in the Coachella Valley throughout the late spring — such as Palm Springs Restaurant Week ; June 2-11 — or just want an historic getaway in the desert , consider Casa Cody , the oldest operating hotel in Palm Springs . The property , named after pioneer Harriet Cody and once the stomping grounds for legends of the arts community visiting the desert such as Charlie Chaplin , American Opera Singer Lawrence Tibbett and AnaÏs Nin , has now been refreshed by Casetta Group , a brand and management hospitality group specializing in elevating boutique properties and motels rooted in history .
Guests can now enjoy two pools , an edible garden , a marketplace in the lobby offering breakfast , coffee , natural wine and poolside bites , citrus trees and a hot tub . Every casa is one-of-a-kind , where heritage elements mix with colorful and modern Spanish revivalist appointments to capture the hotel ’ s history in unique ways . Scattered throughout the grounds , the Casa Cody rooms — from studios to one-and two-bedroom suites to spacious historic homes ( including an original Adobe house ) and cottages — a perfect choice for a romantic getaway or a buy out for a wedding . ( casacody . com )
Defining the Desert
Matt Johnson ’ s Sleeping Figure , part of the 2023 Desert X installation
For the fourth time , Desert X , in a more pared down version of itself , took over the Coachella Valley with 12 site-specific installations by artists responding to the challenge of the desert ’ s “ beauty harshness and ever-changing environment ,” says event founder and President Susan Davis . Focusing on the global social and economic consequences of climate change , artists created works inspired by childhood memories , Native American customs , free trade , conspiracy theories , popularized notions of the American West . This year ’ s installations , which were on view through May 7 , looked at “ the changes that give form to a world increasingly shaped by climate crisis , globalism , and the political and economic migrations that follow in their wake .”
Curated by Artistic Director Neville Wakefield and Co-curator Diana Campbell , the works spanned sculpture , painting , writing , architecture , film , music , and more with artists from Europe , North America , and South Asia participating . Some of our favorites included LA artist Matt Johnson ’ s Sleeping Figure , ( pictured above ) a cubist sculpture of shipping containers conceived at the time when a Japanese-owned , Taiwanese-operated , German-managed , Panamanian-flagged and Indianmanned container behemoth found itself for six days under Egyptian jurisdiction while blocking the Suez Canal . Johnson ’ s figure “ speaks to the crumples and breaks of a supply chain economy in distress ... Casual and laconic , it overlooks the landscape , reminding us that the invisible hand of globalism now connected to its container body has come to rest in the Coachella Valley .” ( desertx . org )
12 SPRING / SUMMER 2023 | LATITUDE33MAGAZINE . COM